The requirement to sell off €50 billion in public assets is
one of the most controversial aspects of the 'agreement' that Eurozone
countries and the Troika forced on the Greek government during
mid-July's "night of shame".
Details of exactly what Greece is required to privatise have now
emerged with the leaking of the "Memorandum of Understanding for a
three-year ESM programme" prepared by the Troika's International
Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank. [1]The leaked document lists 23 state assets, ranging from airports to service utilities, and presents precise steps and timelines for privatisation.
It comes as a shock that this list includes two large public water
companies: Athens Water Supply & Sewerage S.A (EYDAP) and
Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage S.A. (EYATH), which provide
drinking water for the country's two biggest cities. The Troika had
insisted on water privatisation in an earlier memorandum, but strong
public opposition had blocked this proposal.
In June 2014 the Council of State, the country's highest
administrative court, ruled that transferring a controlling stake in
Athens' public water utility EYDAP to private hands was unconstitutional
because of the responsibility of the state to protect citizens'
fundamental right to health. [2]
The new Memorandum foresees the sale of 11% of EYDAP shares, which
seems minimal at face value, but given that 38.7% of EYDAP's shares are
already owned by private companies and individuals, it would leave 49.7%
of the utility in private hands.
As for Thessaloniki, a non-binding referendum was held in May 2014,
resulting in a 98% vote against water privatisation. This citizen-led
initiative mobilised 218,002 voters and sent a crystal clear message
rejecting the planned sale of 51% of EYATH shares to private investors
(French water multinational Suez and Israel's state-owned Merokot had
shown interest). The leaked Memorandum now orders the liquidation of 23%
of state-owned shares; knowing that another 26% are already in private
hands, this would make the company 49% private.
- to read further click HERE

Friday, September 22, 2017

There are articles that you may like to read or read already such as these two by authors who belong to the FONDAD Network:

"Macron’s Labour Gambit" by Dani Rodrik
At
the end of August, French president Emmanuel Macron unveiled the
labour-market overhaul that will make or break his presidency – and may
well determine the future of the eurozone. His goal is to bring down
France’s stubbornly high rate of unemployment, just a shade below 10%,
and energize an economy that badly needs a […]read more...

"The Euro’s Narrow Path" by Barry Eichengreen
With
Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French presidential election, and
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union enjoying a comfortable lead
in opinion polls ahead of Germany’s general election on September 24, a
window has opened for eurozone reform. The euro has always been a
Franco-German project. With a dynamic new leader in one country and a
[…]read more...

And there are also articles you are not interested in because they are authored by someone you do not know, mistrust or dismiss. This may be the case with Paul Graig Roberts. Do you know who he is and what articles and books he has published? If not, you may like to read one of his latest articles, Trump’s UN Speech.

If you don't like this article or disagree with it, I wonder why and on what facts your opinion is based.

I noticed that I tended to dismiss Paul Graig Roberts' opinion after I had read on internet certain things of and about him that give reason to dismiss his opinion. But I realized this is unfair because the fact that he has written articles I do not agree with is not a good reason to dismiss other, sensible, articles by him.

Many of the things Roberts says in his article about Trump's UN speech I find sensible. There are also some things I disagree with or wonder whether he is (fully) right such as his statement or suggestion that the US "war on terror" has resulted in 'tens of millions of slaughtered, maimed, and displaced persons'.

However, it is interesting to investigate what is true and not true in this and other statements by Paul Graig Roberts.

One, positive, reviewer (Edward Curtin) of a recent book authored by Roberts, The Neoconservative Threat to World Order, says about him: A former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy in
the Reagan administration and an editor and columnist for the Wall
Street Journal, Paul Craig Roberts has escaped all easy labels
to become a public intellectual of the highest order. He is a prolific
critic of U.S. foreign and domestic policies, with a special emphasis on
the nefarious influence of the neoconservatives from the Reagan through
the Obama administrations. A savage critic of the mainstream corporate
media – he calls them “presstitutes” – he dissects their propaganda and
disinformation like a truth surgeon and penetrates to the heart of
issues in a flash.

Friday, September 8, 2017

French president Emmanuel Macron stressed again that Greece's debt burden needs to be reduced. By the way, earlier so-called rescue packages for Greece were in fact rescue packages for French and other European banks that had made profiting loans to Greece. Below is an article from the Swiss journal Le Temps.
Does Macron also want less influence for China in Europe, given his warnng that China (Cosco) already took posession of the main part of the Port of Piraeus (see last paragraph in the article below)? Here you can see a short video I made last year about China taking control of the Port of Piraeus: The
Port of Piraeus

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Four Lessons For Europe From Italy’s Experience With Populism

Over the past two decades, Italy has been one of the strongest and most enduring markets
for populist parties in Western Europe. While in other European
countries the rise or the emergence of populism is a recent development
or has occurred only occasionally, it is a persistent feature of Italian
politics. In the sixteen years since 2001, Italy has had populist
governments for roughly half of this period (eight and a half years)
if one counts the three governments led by Silvio Berlusconi that were
in power from 2001 until 2005, 2005 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011.
Furthermore, in the last Italian general election in 2013, populist
parties (People of Freedom/Forza Italia, Lega Nord, and the Five Star
Movement) gained over 50% of the vote.
Interestingly, if one looks closely enough, they can identify some
common patterns characterising the emergence of populist parties in
Italy. In the early 1990s, the rise of Forza Italia (FI) and the Lega
Nord (LN – Northern League) was closely tied to political and economic
crises. In a similar fashion, since 2008 a new period of economic and
political crisis has coincided with the ascent of Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement.
Italy thus offers a useful case study for assessing the consequences
that are implied by a continuous and strong populist presence in
national politics. If we look across these years as a whole, the Italian
experience highlights four particular threats to democracy that can
emerge from this populist presence.
First, there have been implications for the checks and balances that
exist within the Italian political system. Populist parties have
repeatedly attacked the work of judges, notably in the case of Silvio
Berlusconi. They have also had a sizeable impact on the role of the
media in Italian politics. This is true both of Berlusconi’s Forza
Italia and the Five Star Movement, who have both posed a threat to the
freedom and autonomy of media organisations.
Second, there has been a general oversimplification of political
discourse in Italy. The debate about the cost of politics is a good
example. Initially introduced by the Northern League and Forza Italia in
the 1990s, complaints over the cost of politics have also become one of
the most successful topics for Beppe Grillo to mobilise support around.
Yet despite the presence of this debate for two decades in Italian
politics, the political attention it has received has failed to produce
significant savings (as shown, for instance, by several expensive and
incomplete attempts to abolish provincial councils).
There is cross-party consensus among the main political parties on the
need to reduce the number of MPs. This implies a certain reduction of
political representation, while the reduction in terms of the cost of
politics is rather uncertain.
Third, Italy has experienced the spread of populist themes and frames
even among non-populist parties. In the last few years, the success of
populist campaigning among citizens has pushed even mainstream parties
to react using populist rhetoric, styles and sometimes also populist
content of their own. An example would be a much-shared Facebook post
produced by Matteo Renzi on migration, which stated that ‘we need to
free ourselves from a sense of guilt. We do not have the moral duty to
welcome into Italy people who are worse off than ourselves’.
Finally, Italian populism illustrates the so called ‘cultivation theory’. To paraphrase George Gerbner
and his colleagues, instead of ‘growing up with television’ we might
address the issue of ‘growing up with populism’. Italy is now
characterised by general discontent among citizens and strong political
disaffection. The country is not an exception in this respect among
Southern European countries and, obviously, the blame for this situation
cannot be attributed solely to populist parties. Nevertheless, it is
worth noting that, at least in part, the success of populist parties is
achieved through the de-legitimisation of politics, institutions, and
the ruling class, and that it produces a vicious circle fuelling
citizens’ distrust and dissatisfaction.
Although populist parties can pose threats of this nature to
democracy, usually their leaders are also political entrepreneurs that
build off several problems not adequately addressed by mainstream
parties. Their successes, indeed, rely on the ineffectiveness of
governments to take seriously the problems identified by populist
parties, such as political corruption, inefficient use of public money,
the integration of migrants, and the demands of those who are excluded
from the benefits of the globalisation process. Finding viable solutions
to these issues is the obligatory path for Italian politics to follow
if it is to reduce the growing gap that separates it from Italian
citizens.First published by LSE Europp blogAbout Giuliano Bobba

Giuliano
Bobba is Assistant Professor at the University of Turin. His research
interests include relationships between governments, parties and the
media; election campaigns at the European, national and local levels;
the European public sphere; and populism.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Trade unions protested in Paris on August 31 as President Emmanuel Macron unveiled his new attacks on workers’ rights, the Morning Star said the next day. Macron’s proposed labour “reforms” would make it easier for bosses to hire and fire workers.
Macron wants parliament to vote on the new legislation — the third
attack on workers’ rights in the past few years — without a chance to
amend it.
The country’s labour code is seen by the neoliberal president as the
major cause of joblessness in France. However, other large European
countries such as Italy and Spain, with fewer protections for workers,
have higher rates of unemployment.
The protest against the reforms was called by union federations CGT
and Solidaires, Right to Housing and Attac France in the Parisian suburb
of Jouy-en-Josas.
“Mr Macron represents the big bosses, and those who want to cut
public services, social protection and everything achieved by workers,”
one protester said.
The unions have called for mass demonstrations against the new law on
September 12, but two of France’s biggest unions, the Force Ouvriere
and CFDT, have said they will not take part. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader
of left-wing party France Unbowed, has called a further protest on
September 23.Published in www.greenleft.org.au

About Me

As a kid I liked numbers and the sound of strings. I considered studying engineering but chose social sciences because of my interest in people. I combine a theoretical interest with a practical, social approach which brought me to the sphere of policy research. I am interested in reducing the disparity between poor and rich, between the powerful and the less powerful.
In 1973 and 1982 I lived in Latin America. In the mid-1980s, I was able to create an international forum to discuss the functioning of the international monetary system and the debt crisis, the Forum on Debt and Development (FONDAD). I established it with the view that the debt crisis of the 1980s was a symptom of a malfunctioning, flawed global monetary and financial system.
I was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the European Network on Debt and Development that was established at the end of the 1980s to help put pressure on European policymakers.
In 1990, before the beginning of the Gulf War, I cofounded the Golfgroep, a discussion group about international politics comprising journalists, scientists, politicians and activists that meets regularly.
The website of FONDAD is www.fondad.org